My pole bean teepees are six feet high and have wire wrapped around them to give horizontal support to the vines. I plant my seed in a perfect circle around the entire teepee with the plants spaced about 4 inches apart. The teepees get completely covered with the vines and they are beautiful as well as very productive. I planted two teepees like this last summer and we ate beans and ate beans all summer (April to November) plus I put 10 gallons in the freezer. I was happy. (It was an unusual summer that never got so hot the vines shut down. It was Rattlesnake beans. My first time. Winners.) Yes, you can grow different types of beans on one teepee, but I don't think you'll like it. The reason being, you will likely never have enough beans of one kind to make a mess, and you will get tired of keeping them separate, and when they are cooked, you won't know which is which anyway. The point of growing more than one variety is to see which not only grow better, but which TASTE better to you. Maybe you can grow two teepees? Or two crops at different times? My growing season is very long....maybe yours isn't. Just a thought. Peas and beans on the same poles? Yes. You plant what we in the south, call English peas (shelling peas) early, when it's too cold for snap beans anyway. Then sow your snap beans (green beans) around the pea plants at the right time. By the time the beans need the space, the peas are burned up by hot weather anyway. This technique is called succession planting. If you Google the term, you can read all about it. As stated above, a chain link fence is also ideal for English, Sugar Snap, or Snow peas. I rather suspect that you would have a hard time with Limas in Zone 5, mostly because your growing season may not be long enough. They need really hot weather for a really long time. But then, I have never gardened in Zone 5, and if your grand daddy did it, who knows? Personally, I would go for easy successes the first couple of years and work into the hard stuff. You'll be less likely to get discouraged. Carrots and radishes, as stated above should have time to grow and be harvested before beans get going, because they are Cool weather crops. You can plant them much earlier than beans. Before your last frost date even. I'm thinking you would find it very helpful to Google "Planting Guide" for your state and/or county. It will have the best planting dates for your area. Look at the seed packets (or catalog descriptions) for the number of Days to Maturity. Then start counting from the suggested planting date on your Planting Guide to the DTM on the packet. This will tell you when that crop will be ready to be pulled out. Do the same with your beans. There will be some overlap, which is fine. This technique is called intercropping. Google that term and you'll learn some more! Good Luck! We'll love hearing how it goes for you.

A suggestion for those using bamboo/wooden stake teepees. Using an electric drill make a row of holes along one side of each pole. Five holes in each pole should be enough. Now, screw cup hooks in each hole. Set up your teepee and then wind nylon string, starting at the top, around the outside of the teepee giving it several wraps around each cup hook and secure the string to the bottom of one pole. This process strengthens the teepee, gives tendrils some climbing support and allows you to secure errant vines/tomato branches firmly with whatever you use for tying purposes.

I'm actually dealing with it today. It's been a big disappointment. I have planted green beans twice and have only had one sprout. When I investigate the dirt, I can't even find a single bean. I have never had trouble sprouting beans before. So today I am digging morning glories from my neighbor who has tons of them, and turning it into a morning glory T-pee! I had my first harvest of sugar peas last night. My daughter and I shared a big handful. They were delicious! ~Cat

That's a real good idea, thanks a lot for posting the advice. I also had to deal with a contaminated bed and didn't know what I should do with it. A bean teepee is a great task for kids and you make them do something outside.